Daily Devotions from The Word Of God… From the heart of Ed Algreen

Posts tagged ‘Security’

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 2:1): We must give our full attention to what we were told, so that we won’t drift away

THOUGHTS: Lest we miss the meaning of the words “drift away”, I want to take the liberty of reflecting on what it means when a boat ‘drifts away’. Normally after a day at work in a boat, it is properly secured to a mooring and extra anchors, so that it would stay secure until the next day when its owner is again ready to take it out fishing. Here’s what it means to secure a boat, and these terms will also apply to our spiritual lives:

A boat must be properly secured to avoid it drifting away, so a mooring is put in place for that purpose. Our ‘mooring’ is the security of our faith in Jesus Christ. Both the boat, and Christians will drift away without their anchor/lives being fully secure. Only boats tied to their mooring have the security of that heavy, but secure hold. Only those who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have the security of His strong grip on us and His protective hand upon us to keep us from drifting away. Unfortunately there has to be a mooring in place for a boat to use it. For us, we must have a commitment to Jesus in place and a relationship with Him, so that our anchor is secure in Him.

In the case of a boat, a secondary anchor is always used to support the effort of the mooring. For the Christian, it is vital that we surround ourselves with fellow Christians for support, uplifting, encouragement and correction. We need each other while still here on this earth;

Drifting away often results in a boat being lost forever, as it might sink, or perhaps is stolen while drifting in a vast ocean. However it sometimes drifts into the rocks and is either battered so badly that if it is found by the owner, they may decide to just leave it, or if not they may choose to return it home and with some TLC restore it to its original condition. For the person who is not secure in Jesus Christ, you will tend to drift away from the Truth, from the love of a Savior who gave His very life for your eternal salvation, and from Christian Brothers and Sisters who keep you accountable. A boat can often be restored if found by its owner. People who find or return to Jesus can always be repaired of sin and quickly made whole by our loving Lord!

So where are you at in life today friend? Are you secure, or are you drifting and want to be secure? Jesus loves you a whole lot friend, and He wants to see you secure in His keeping. Please read the tips in my Footnote on what you might do to know this Savior of mine, or how you might return to His watchful and protective care. He’s our anchor/mooring that keeps us secure until the day that our Father calls us home to be with Him!

PRAYER: Father, we read in Your Word where there were times that You really had to deal seriously with folk who refused to accept Your help. Lord, I don’t want to see that happen in my life, nor in the lives of those that I love and care about. Please use Your Word today as a reminder to help folk deal with the sin in their life, as I believe that this is one of the biggest things that destroys their relationship with You and causes them to drift away from the safety and security of the one true Rock, Jesus. Please touch the lives of Christians who should be striving to stay secure in that ‘Rock’. May this be a daily commitment for us as we strive to love and keep You foremost in our lives. Thank You for hearing my prayer and giving me hope and security in the Savior of this world, Jesus my Lord, for I’m asking all this in His name, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Holy Bible(The Message – 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8):But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

Thoughts:In spite of all that is going on around us and around the world, Christians are not to be sucked in by Satan in his attempts to distract and worry Christ’s followers – for whether we live or die, we are, and will be with the Lord! Friends, I believe that Jesus has us on mission here on earth, until such time that He decides to call us home to be with Him! While most Christians believe that and look forward in great expectation to the day that we sit at Jesus’ feet in worship, praise and adoration, I believe that we often feel detached, lonely and in battle with Satan and his cohorts. Paul is teaching us in these verses that even here on earth we need to stand tall, knowing that we are children of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. With this confidence, of whom then shall we be afraid? Paul reminds us that if we have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, and claim Him as our Master, then we should act like it. We should stay attuned with Him and be constantly reminded that our faith in Him is not in vain, instead it is our foundation and our ongoing arm of strength – our support arm. And based on this, we are to live in hope knowing that the King of this universe has us in the palm of His hands, and loves us enough to care for us, protect us and guide us, until the day that He calls us home to be with Him. Sure we will still get discouraged here on this earth, but surer still friend, we are to be comforted to know that Jesus is with us through every day and every trial, because He loves us with such a deep, sacrificial and everlasting love. So I encourage you friend, to not just simply say that you love Jesus, but learn to depend on Him through the good times and the challenging times that seem so overwhelming to us at times. Our security is protected and reassured by the One who created this universe, who hung the stars in space, who created us and sacrificed His very life so that we may have a way into heaven to be with Him throughout eternity. So our security is surer and more secure in Him than in any military on this earth, or any leader that may govern even the strongest nation on earth. This is the God that I serve friend, do you know Him? Are you able to place your faith and trust in Him knowing that He recognizes you as one of His? Please read the ‘Footnote’ for tips on how you might make this a reality today. It is way too important to ignore friend.

Prayer:Father, thank You for Your love, and the hope and security that I find in You! I was acutely reminded of this as I studied Your Word this morning. I sincerely need Your touch, Your hand, Your protection, Your security and Your guidance on my life each and every day, so that I can represent You well here on this earth, and be a light to those struggling in a world filled with darkness and sin. Thank You for sending Jesus so that I might have that hope. Please touch the hearts of those that will pass by and read this devotional today. May they be deeply touched, just as I was. May we be bolder in our experiences today and represent You so fully, that others will want to know the Savior who lives in and through us. May You receive honor and glory as a result of Your Word being shared today, is my humble and sincere pray that I ask in Your name, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

John 3:3-7 ~ Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?” Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above.

APPLICATION

We often hear the terminology “You must be born again” or “You must accept Jesus as Lord” in order to enter into heaven one day. To those that are unfamiliar with the Word of God, it must be difficult to understand this terminology, and it must sound to you like it did to Nicodemus in these verses. However, Jesus explained that just as in our natural birth we are born from the womb through water into a new birth – a true transformation, the second birth is from a natural sinful life through the Spirit of God that will give us a brand new birth in Christ, another transformation. It is as easy as A, B, C to do this. Be ready by ADMITting that you are a sinner in need of a Savior (Jesus). BELIEVE that Jesus is Lord and that only He can save you and give you access into heaven. Then CONFESS your sin to Jesus and ask His forgiveness. It’s as simple as that, Admit, Believe and Confess. Do this and you will be saved, friend! Go then and tell your friends about the change/transformation that has occurred in your life!

PRAYER

Father I thank You for saving me, and for forgiving me of my sin, and giving me life eternal. Please speak to anyone reading this today and convince them of any decisions that they need to make. Please tender the hearts of my family and loved ones that still need to surrender their lives to You. May this be a day of decision for them. May they go to bed tonight with the assurance of knowing that they have made the most important decision of their life and that it is a positive decision towards knowing You as their personal Savior. As this is read, decisions will be made. One decision will be to accept Jesus as Lord or the alternative is to continue a life without Christ that could be into eternal damnation (Hell) before the sun sets tonight. I love my family and friends too much to know that any of them will make the latter decision, so please soften their hearts even now dear Jesus.

Psalm 62:8-9 ~ Trust God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns. God is our place of safety. We humans are only a breath; none of us are truly great. All of us together weigh less than a puff of air.

APPLICATION

We often say, well I am so disappointed because a good friend of ours let us down. In these verses David reminds us that all humans put together weigh less than a puff of air, for it is God that we should tell all of our concerns and it is in Him that we should depend for our safety. We are so dependent on what others think of us. If only we would be so careful to place that much emphasis on what God KNOWS about us, and if only we would act in ways that would please God as much as we try to please others.

PRAYER

Father, “It’s You I live for“. Please help me to live my life in a way that is pleasing in Your sight, and that follows Your commands. Please help me to daily dig deep into Your Word so that I may stay in tuned with all that You would have me to do.

Psalm 62:1-2 ~ Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for him. God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe and the fortress where I am secure.

APPLICATION

“What a Mighty God We Serve“, “You Never Let Go – Whom Then Shall I Fear” are two songs that come readily to my mind as I read these verses, for the God that I serve is the only One that can save me, He is the only One that I consider as a ‘Mighty Rock’ on whom I can stand/depend or trust with the challenges that may come my way, for He is a fortress where I can be safe and secure. Savor these three songs that are hyperlinked as you meditate on this devotion and reflect on the awesome God that we know, love, serve and plan to spend eternity with!